Daji - The Most Evil Kitsune (Nogitsune) Of China | Chinese Mythology & Folklore

Daji is known as the worst and the most evil woman that China has ever had in its long history. Daji, was the favorite consort of King Zhu of Shang, the last king of the Shang dynasty in ancient China. She was an evil, malevolent fox spirit in Chinese legends as well as novels. Novels narrated that Daji is the incarnation of a silvery fox that assumed a human form after a thousand years of self-cultivation. She was summoned by Nu Wa, the Celestial Sovereign, to corrupt the Dixin, the tyrant of the powerful state of Shang, so that his people would eventually rise and overthrow him. Note that in the Chinese history, Dixin is known as Zhu. In the novels, Daji knew her mission was no easy task and so, before her departure, Nu Wa, the Celestial Highness, promised her an immortal status after her mission was accomplished. However, according to historical record, Daji was the beautiful daughter of a noble family named Su in the state of Yusu. Daji had wanted to learn the ways of a warrior and maybe, just maybe, become strong enough to defend her family in the state of Su. Unfortunately, there were no hopes for her dreams. In 1047 BC, Su, the tyrant of Shang, conquered the state of Su and took Daji's his trophy. Daji's hope of becoming a warrior was dashed. Her father Su Hu had given her to King Su of Shang as an appeasement offer. One night before Daji was sent to the capital city of Shugui, she was possessed by an evil nine-tailed fox spirit, which is a thousand-year-old Dixin. When Daji arrived in Shugui, she became the center of attention of King Su and caused the king to be extremely obsessed with her. By then, the king was in his sixties and had been in his throne for forty years. He had been known as strong, heroic, oratory and well-versed in music. Under his reign, Shang had become a powerful and prosperous state. But all these changed for the bad, the moment Daji came into his life. Su was a bit known for his infatuated love for women, and Daji was his bane. In a short while after Daji's arrival, she rose above the ranks from a minor concubine to become the queen based on the king's favoritism towards her. King Su became extremely infatuated with Daji and started to neglect state affairs in order to keep her company. He used any means necessary to integrate himself with her and to please her. Daji liked animals so he built her a zoological Xanadu with several rare species of birds and animals. Daji also liked singing and dancing, so he ordered artists to compose lewd music and dances to satisfy her musical taste. He gathered three thousand guests at one party to engage in his pond of alcohol and forest of meat, which was cooked meat strips hanging from a wood of trees. He allowed the guests to play a cat and mouse game, with the guests being nude in the forest, just to amuse Daji. When a maid of honor and one of King Su's concubines, the daughter of Lord Ju, couldn't bear it anymore, and protested, King Su immediately had her executed. As if that wasn't enough, her aged father was ground in pieces and his flesh fed to the king vassals. Daji had eventually become a full-blown brute herself. Her greatest joy was to hear people cry in physical torment. Once, she saw a farmer walking barefoot on ice and ordered his feet to be cut off, so she could study them and figure out why they were so resistant to cold temperatures. There was another occasion when Daji saw a pregnant woman, and being curious about what could possibly be inside the protruding belly, she had the pregnant woman's belly cut open, so it satisfied her curiosity. In another incident, just to verify an ancient saying that a good man's heart has seven apertures, the evil Daji even had the heart of the minister Bai Gan, King Su's uncle, dug out and subjected to her scrutiny. Daji was popularly known for her invention of a method of torture known as Pei Lao. The Pei Lao is a bronze cylinder covered with oil, which was heated like a furnace with charcoal beneath until its sides became extremely hot. The victim sentenced to this painful death method, was made to walk on top of the slowly heating cylinder and he was forced to shift his feet to avoid the burning. The oily surface made it difficult for the victim to maintain his position and balance. If the victim fell into the charcoal below, he would be burnt to death. The victim was forced to dance and scream in agony before dying. In a slightly different version, the victim would be tied on the cylinder and baked to death. Daji took great joy in the painful cries of the victims, she and the king laughing in delight all the while the victim suffers in agony. During the time King Su was occupied with making himself and Daji happy, a certain tribe grew a deep-rooted hatred towards the king and began to plot his downfall. The last straw which broke the camel's back was when Boyi Kao, eldest son of Jichang, leader of the rebellious Su tribe, visited the capital. It is said that he had a love affair with Daji. So the wrathful King Su had Kao killed and his body grounded. That not being enough, the king made Jichang drink the soup of his son's flesh before jailing him. It was only after many rescue efforts that Jichang finally was released two years later. But shortly after his release, Jichang died, heartbroken by the inhuman way his eldest son died. Twelve years after Jichang's death, his youngest son Jifar launched an attack against Shang to avenge his family. Fortunately for him, the whole kingdom and even neighboring kingdoms, had developed even more intense anger and hatred towards the tyrannical King Su and Daji. This made it easier for Jifar to achieve his goal. Just as Jifar began the attack, the better armed and invincible army of Shang sided him and offered him their help. The soldiers betrayed and turned their weapons against their tyrannical ruler, King Su. Seeing his dynasty doomed, the king committed suicide by setting fire upon himself. Jifar's mission was successful, thus, he became the new king. And what about Daji? Daji, being powerless now, was mercilessly put to death by Jifar, king of the new dynasty of Su, following the advice of priest Jiang Ziya. Jiang Ziya, then exorcised the evil fox spirit, banishing it from the human world. Having being banned from the human realm, Daji the fox tried returning to the celestial realm, but she was denied entry. And to her utter shock, Nuwa sentenced Daji, the fox, to death instead of making her an immortal as she had promised. This was because she had been so carried away by the pleasures of the human world, that she committed several atrocities deemed unacceptable by the celestial beings. Daji had obviously been overzealous in doing what she had been asked to do. Alas, Daji paid for her crimes by being put to death in both worlds. This, is the story of Daji.